I climbed to the edge of the treehouse floor, barely stopping myself from falling.
There was a real fire in the forest!
I narrowed my eyes, trying to pinpoint its exact location. Once I knew where it was, I climbed down, ready to go check it out.
I thought about eating something first, but I was too excited to wait for anything to cook. So, I grabbed a few of those brown mushrooms I'd eaten on my first day here and started moving toward the source of the smoke.
But what exactly was I planning to do once I got there? Should I try introducing myself? Maybe I can just walk up and wave to show I meant no harm?
That probably would just look like I'm threatening them with my claws.
Sigh. This might be difficult.
Or. Who knows, maybe in this world dragons and humans have a good relationship...
Ok that was just wishful thinking.
What if they are some sort of adventures that are monster hunting, would they try and kill me?
Or maybe it's just a lone traveler who started a fire for warmth. That wouldn't surprise me, considering how dangerous this forest is. There were too many possibilities.
I guess I won't find out until I get there.
About a minute later, I saw it: part of a camp coming into view through the trees.
It was quite big.
I dropped to all fours and crept closer, moving cautiously through the brush. I spotted a large white tent and a group of eight or nine men, sitting around a campfire.
They all wore the same shiny red uniforms and carried swords at their sides.
They didn't look like adventurers.
They looked like soldiers headed for war.
What on earth is going on here?
I crept behind a bush near them and started listening to their conversation. Two of them were chewing on freshly cooked meat while chatting.
"The captain's crazy" One of them muttered. "I can't believe we're stuck in this stupid forest for another five days just waiting to raid some stupid village."
"Hey, be quite" The other one snapped. "He might hear you!"
"Relax" The first one said with his mouth full "He's way out in the forest, its fine."
"It's your head that's going to roll if we get caught, not mine. Don't forget we're waiting for reinforcements for a reason that village apparently has a strong mage living in it."
"Okay you might be right, but just think of it, we get to conquer Lionia for the glory of our great empire, Lamia. And loot all these villages at the same time. Fame and fortune are just waiting for us! Can you blame me for being excited?"
The second soldier sighed. "No, I guess not, but the truce between the kingdoms has lasted for twenty years, I think we can wait another five days."
He turned and looked at a third man. "What do you think Burton; you fought in the last war right?"
The man he was talking to, appeared to be in his forties, he had been silently eating during their conversation.
He made me feel uneasy when I looked at him. He had scars on his arms and face. He looked like he had been in countless battles. And he had seemed almost emotionless.
Burton looked up from his food. "If you really want to know what I think then I'll tell ya," He said in a low, raspy voice. "What the captain has done is pointless, I mean awarding soldiers based on their performance? Heh. It's all too complicated for me."
Burton grinned showing emotion for the first time and said. "Back in my day you just took what you wanted, and if anyone civilians got in your way you just had to make sure they didn't stay in the way."
The first soldier was annoyed. "Ah all you really care about is fighting. Maybe you should just head back up West a few miles to the border and call it quits. I think you already fought enough in the last war. We all know you'll end up with halve the reward money anyway. Even the captain says you enjoy this stuff too much, and that's saying something."
Burton smirked "Heh, if I head anywhere, it will be East to the village."
The second soldier groaned. "Not you too! Come on guys it's just five more days!"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing, what exactly had I stumbled upon, A war between two kingdoms? This was crazy. And these soldiers, the way they talked about killing so casually was sickening. Surely everyone in this world couldn't be like this.
Just after I finished that thought, I heard a twig snap behind me.
It was followed by the sound of a sword being unsheathed, and in an instant, I heard metal whistle through the air.
The blade cut through my back effortlessly. My scales didn't even slow the sword down a bit. The pain was unlike anything I received from any monster I'd fought before; it felt like my back was on fire which only made the cut all the worse.
I turned and fell to the ground as I saw who my attacker was.
He was a tall man wearing a similar uniform to the soldiers, but it had white stripes, and he was wearing a medal on the right side of it. He was young about twenty-five years old and stared at me with a condescending smile.
"Well, what do we have here?" He said in a menacing tone. "A dragon hatchling huh? Never seen one that looked like this before."
This man must be the captain the soldiers had been talking about! I was about to get up and run, but before I could, I felt pain erupt from my chest.
His attack was so fast I didn't even realize I had been cut until it was too late.
Agony. Pure agony was all I felt. I looked at the man's sword, it had some type of emblem on it that resembled a flame. Did it make those it cut feel like they were burning? That's the only explanation for how I felt right now.
"Hey, Captain are ya back already?" One of the soldiers called.
He replied saying. "Yes, I'm just playing with a dragon hatchling I found."
"Dragon hatchling? Let me come get a look." Said the soldier.
Several footsteps were approaching. I tried to stand but faltered before getting on my feet-I was unsteady.
"Woah it is a real dragon!" One of them said when he saw me.
I needed to try and run before I was completely surrounded; I looked for an opening then started moving.
"Oh you got to run huh?" The captain said. "Here's a parting gift then."
Again, I heard his sword and felt a cut form on my right arm. But I kept running, although my speed was much slower than normal because of my injuries.
One soldier said. "Hey captain are you just gonna let it go? Aren't dragon skins worth good money"
The captain replied saying. "It's not worth the trouble. We have a village here to loot, and many more after that" Then he smirked. "Besides, now we can get to brag that even dragons run from us."
By now, I had put a bit of distance between me and the camp. But I could still hear them laughing at me.
I kept walking.
"This is bad" I said in a shaky voice. I felt fear creeping into me. "if I don't get help... I'm going to bleed out and die here"
But who's going to help a dragon?
The soldiers mentioned the village was to the west. I looked up at the sun. I think I was already heading that way.
I don't know if I truly believed there was an even chance that anyone would actually help me... but it was my only hope.
Would I even reach the village in time?
I didn't know how far away it was.
I might pass out from blood loss before I even get there.
Then I saw wheat.
A field. I must be getting close!
When I reached it, I saw the stalks were almost fully grown and it must be near harvest season.
Now I knew what time of year it was... but that was the last thing on my mind right now.
Then I came to a hill.
It took all my strength to walk over it.
When I reached the top, I stopped. There was a small house and A girl outside.
She was about fifty feet away. My legs felt like they had giant weights attached to them.
Every step I took was painful and felt like it could be my last.
My breath had become ragged, I was really on the edge now. I didn't even want to think about how much blood I had lost.
The girl looked to be between eighteen to twenty, she was hanging laundry and was completely unaware of me.
I kept going, then when my legs refused to take another step, I fell to my knees and let out a weak roar as my attempt to call for help.
I wasn't sure if she would even hear me...
But then she turned, and her eyes widened in shock, or maybe fear and the laundry slipped from her hands.
Finally, my body gave out completely. I collapsed flat on my stomach.
I heard her running through the field towards me, my vision became blurred and then all I saw was darkness.
Much later, I woke up in a small wooden shed, with no idea how I got there. A dusty window let in enough light to see the room; farming tools and wooden crates were stacked against the walls.
I tried to get up, but pain surged through me and my body screamed. I gave up on standing. Then I noticed my injuries, someone had wrapped them in bandages.
It must have been that girl. I lifted my arm a few inches before it dropped limply to the ground again.
"I'm in pretty bad shape, huh"
Then the shed door creaked open, A familiar figure stood in the doorway, it was the girl. The same one I called to before passing out, she was carrying a basket.
When she saw that I was awake she was startled and let out a small gasp.
"Oh, you're awake" Her voice was gentle but also a little cautious.
She stepped inside carefully and knelt beside me. "You're... not going to attack me, right?" She asked with a nervous smile.
I wasn't sure If I should shake my head and reveal that I understood her, but before I could decide.
She gave a smile. "I brought some food for you if you are hungry"
I guess her question had been rhetorical.
She set the basket of food down. In it was an apple, A slice of bread with honey, some meat and a bowl of water.
"Was this really all for me?" My mouth watered, it was actually normal food, everything looked delicious.
The girl spoke again, by her tone I could tell she was talking to herself more than to me. "I didn't know what dragons normally ate so I tried to bring a bit of everything."
I felt like I was going to cry from gratitude, she had done more for me than I could have hoped for. She continued to watch me silently; I think she was waiting for me to eat something.
I picked up the apple, it was shiny and bright red. "I bit into it; a sweetness I hadn't tasted in a long time filled my mouth."
At this moment I thought that it would be impossible for anything to taste better.
It must have also been clear to the girl, how much I liked the apple, and she spoke with a nice smile. "I'm glad you're enjoying it. I need to go, but I'll be back in the morning. So just rest."
She left, I continued eating, all the food tasted great. But nothing could match the feeling I had knowing that someone actually seemed to care about me.
As the sun set, I felt an immense feeling of thankfulness, then I saw a folded blanket beside me.
She had thought of everything! I pulled it over myself, I felt warm and cozy now. If only every day could be like this.
I guess in a way I did end up taking it easy today. Then I drifted off to sleep.